(Bloomberg) -- With China’s deflation at its worst in 15 years, a volatile stock market and bank interest rates too low for her liking, 18-year-old Tina Hong...
-- With China’s deflation at its worst in 15 years, a volatile stock market and bank interest rates too low for her liking, 18-year-old Tina Hong is placing her financial security in gold beans.Stocks Fall as ‘Triple Witching’ Spurs Volume Jump: Markets Wrap
However, he cautions that it makes no sense to invest in gold beans — or other gold items — because their price is often 10% to 30% higher than the commodity’s spot price. Investors would be better served by parking money in gold ETFs, he said. Sales of gold, silver and jewelery reached a six-year high in December, a 29.4% year-on-year jump, according to government data. Precious metals now represent one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in China.
“Despite the recent surge in China’s gold price, consumers are still demonstrating a strong preference for gold,” said Cindy Yeung, chairwoman and managing director of Emperor Watch & Jewellery Ltd. Like other major jewelry retailers, Emperor is talking up gold on social media and e-commerce platforms.There are perils for consumers of gold beans and other gold objects who aren’t knowledgeable about the difference between authentic gold and fakes, experts say.
Nonetheless, the craze for anything gold continues to play out on social media. College students are posting diary-like entries on gold purchases, couples share how they repaired strained relationships with gold gifts — and metal resellers and collectors offer gold investing advice.Gold-Medalist Coders Build an AI That Can Do Their Job for ThemA woman who blew the whistle about Facebook ignoring potential harms to users of the social media platform says proposed laws by Canada and B.C.